Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes
by Shakuhachi Jade
Summary: Set after book 3--Artemis is having memory troubles, and he fakes a death. Holly worries, and returns to the surface to check on him. Sparks fly as a new enemy, who has hidden in the shadows all this time, finally decides to show himself. ON HIATUS.
1. And so it continues

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

**_Chapter 1- And so it continues..._**

"Artemis is-is...dead?!"

"Well, not 'dead,' technically," Foaly exclaimed, thinking 'dead' sounded too, well, dead. "My computer says he's still missing."

"Missing? _Missing_ from a plane crash with NO SURVIVORS?!" Captain Holly Short was enraged. They'd been tracking Artemis Fowl's actions for a year now, and he'd been on plenty of planes. The fact that this plane happened to crash was a complete and total fluke.

"Holly...Artemis isn't dead. He'll be fine. He's a genius, so don't worry about it."

"Foaly?"

"Yes, Holly?"

"Why don't you sound very convincing?"

The two turned to face the blinking red light, indicating the location of the crash. They stared in silence. If Artemis had survived, the technology would tell them.

The light never moved.

Just as Foaly began to do system checks, Commander Julius Root burst into the room looking like a juicy plum ready to pop. Something was up.

Before either of the two had the chance to ask, Root said, "It's Mulch; he's gone."

"I thought he was in prison?"

"He was, but he's out now, and free to go."

"WHAT?" Holly and Foaly yelled at the same time. Root continued.

"He came up with this extraordinary case in court and got himself out. Just like that. Captain Short, please close your mouth." Holly snapped her mouth shut, her cheeks flushing with anger and embarrassment. She asked,

"How? Where did he get such a lead?"

"I don't know." Root was shaking his head, completely unconvinced of what was coming out of his mouth. "I really don't know."

* * *

Butler's computers say he's missing. The LEP recon thought him dead. But the truth of it was that no one really knew _where_ Artemis Fowl to be.

Except himself, of course. Sort of.

"Well, _that _didn't go as planned," he grumbled, pulling a twig from his hair. "The plane was supposed to _appear_ to crash, not actually collide with the ground. It's a good thing I decided to use fake passengers as well...Ow..." Artemis looked down at his limbs. His ankle was twisted and his arms had a few gashes. There was a hard throbbing in his head, too. "First thing's first- I need to stop this bleeding..."

The raven-haired boy searched around for a while, examining his surroundings and gathering the necessary items. Thinking like a genius would, he used a stick and a strip from his clothes to hold his ankle straight, and his vest as a bandage for his wounded arms.

The sun was beginning to fall behind one of the large mountains in the distance. If he didn't think of something fast, he'd stay there for the night.

The plane had gone pretty far off course. It was originally supposed to crash a few miles from a small town. Only now, as far as Artemis could tell, he was smack in the middle of a great evergreen forest. Butler would be tracking the plane, but the tracker didn't show the planes exact movements. It would only show that the plane was missing. But it wouldn't come up exactly. Butler would be searching for a long time.

The weirdest thing was the _reason_ he had for crashing the plane in the first place. A mysterious, but powerful, dream said he had lost something very dear to him, and to get it back, he had to conceal himself so great, the air wouldn't know he was there. Why? He didn't know, and probably never would, for he awoke before the dream was finished. All he knew was that something he once had was missing and he wanted it back.

The temperature was dropping quickly. Artemis was starting to shiver. He felt...alone. And a little silly, but alone. He had told Butler that this was one thing he had to do on his own. He'd planned it all out perfectly: his parents would be told he's going on a field trip, and the plane had been rigged to "crash" in the right area (about a half mile away from a tiny village.) There was still the problem of becoming virtually non-existent. Well, it wasn't really a problem for Artemis. He just constructed a nonliving copy of himself and put a live rat inside. He was originally going to kill the rat, but the real crash took care of that. (So all was not lost. Yet.) Since the copy had had his DNA, and was previously breathing but now dead, and "Artemis" was on the plane, "he" is now technically dead (or as close to nonexistent as you can get.)

The whole ordeal was full of holes, but Artemis was anxious. It was true, though- he _had_ been a little empty for the past year. Like there really _was_ something missing, a dear something.

And thus, Artemis is where he is- shivering, grumbling, and all alone in a forest, soon to be _dark_ forest.

The boy genius took in a sharp breath when a wolf howled hungrily in the distance. There was a full, yellow moon overhead, though the sky was still a navy blue and the stars weren't out. A cold wind blew across his pale face. "Damn it all..." he cursed. "Why did I act so foolishly? Why did I actually believe what some dream told me? Why? Why?! WHY?!" He listened to his voice echo across the mountains. This was going to be a long, long night.

* * *

"NO. Absolutely not. It's never been done, we're not going to do it, end of story."

"Please, commander."

"I said _no_, Holly."

"But---"

"Even if we did, it'd be pointless because of the fact that HE DOESN'T KNOW WE EXIST! We don't even know if he's _alive_! I won't do it, and neither will you."

Holly slumped in her chair. The idea of helping Fowl wasn't going to be convinced to Commander Root very easily. She knew that, but she didn't care. She'd tried her hardest to forget the boy, but even that seemed impossible. She'd wander into Foaly's lab and demand to know where he was and what he was doing at least twice a day.

"Please, Commander. He won't know who we are, and we would only seem like normal humans!"

"Holly, if we do what you're wanting to do, we'd _be_ normal humans. Do you even have the antidote for that procedure?"

Holly thought for a minute. "That was a good question, considering every fairy knows there is no known cure. If you are magically transformed human, then you magically _stay_ human, or so it's said. I did some research and found documented cases of humans who've become fairies. So my answer is yes, I do have a cure."

Root frowned. "Well? What is it?"

"I can't say."

"Why not?"

"Look, I have the cure, and I swear on my badge that I do, _I'm_ willing to try it, and the only thing that's stopping me is you."

"Exactly."

"What?!"

"I told you once already. I don't care how much research you do; it won't change the fact that I said you couldn't do it. I won't change my mind. No exceptions. Now get out of my office and back to work. Oh, and _quit_ worrying about Fowl all together."

Holly stared with wide eyes at her Commander. That was a direct order. Artemis could be dead or dying and she couldn't do a thing about it.

She'd just have to suck it up and move on.

But then, that wasn't like her, was it?

**Next time—**Artemis finds something he once lost, and Holly's on the goblin express.

**a/n—**the hardest thing to write is the beginning of a story. It's when everybody's gonna get their first impression. sigh.. but, I hope this was good enough to keep your interest. And I can take critiques if they're not stupid rambles about how much my story sucked. I've almost got all of the second chapter typed, but since my computer's shot, I'll have to wait till Monday or Tuesday to put it up. Oh yeah, and I'm really sorry if I've got anything OOC or different from the books. It's been a while... Chao for now, ya'll!


	2. Hit it Out

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

_**Chapter 2- Hit it Out**_

Artemis laid awake for hours into the night just staring blankly up at the stars. The temperature had risen considerably, and the warm breezes were a pleasure to have. He was currently resting for a moment on a pile of dry leaves. He saw no need to fall asleep completely; he was probably going to die anyway. (Now that was thinking irrationally. For him anyway.) He had no way of communicating with anyone, and it's not like he carries around a...

...a cell phone!

Artemis jerked up and patted himself down wildly. No phone. He looked around, and then remembered the copy. It had the phone, but he was miles from it. The genius had parachuted out of the plane when he realized what was going on.

It wouldn't have mattered anyway. His cell phone and all other technical devices are setting back in his room at Fowl Manor.

He plopped back down on the ground, feeling defeated. Everything that could've possibly gone wrong had gone wrong. What the bloody hell was he thinking, doing something so stupid... It was just a dream... just a...

Something hit the back of his head, making him get up again to look around. Nothing. There was a very, very faint rumbling in the background, but it was so quiet, Artemis thought he was imagining it. Something on the ground flickered in the moonlight as he moved. It looked like a small gold coin with a string tied around a hole in the middle.

Something inside him went haywire when he reached down to pick it up, but he couldn't quite put his foot on what it was. Something so tangible, but just out of his reach. He kept the little necklace.

It seemed after he found the thing that he slept soundly. It was a change, from staying up all hours of the night doing research on things completely irrelevant to him. He assumed it would fill the emptiness. Of course, a few crimes here and there helped, but they didn't fill anything.

But now the hole was slowly closing up. He'd found something he was missing—

—too bad he had no clue what it was.

But he did. He knew what it was.

Well, not exactly.

It was driving his brain crazy. It was driving _him_ crazy. Everything else, including his survival, was shoved aside for this coin-thing. Or whatever it was.

His dreams were assorted fantasy novels with mythological creatures everywhere. One of them stood out like a pine tree in the Sahara: A beautiful Elvin girl with short auburn, copper-colored hair. She talked and laughed (and argued) with him for as long as he desired.

But dreams are hard to come by when you're awake, and Artemis awoke to a very loud, very annoying—

"ARRRRTYYY!!!!"

* * *

Things weren't easy for Holly. 

Turning herself into a human wasn't easy (or legal.)

Going aboveground without being caught wasn't easy (or legal.)

But hey, she was Holly. She didn't care if things were hard or illegal. All she wanted to do was see if Artemis was okay. That couldn't be so hard...

...and that wasn't true.

After her talk with Commander Root went up in smoke, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Yes, she knew it was going against an order, but one year of LEP junk is a bore. She'd been adventure-deprived, and when a good one finally comes up, they say she can't go.

"Holly Short; mission objective: secure the fact that Artemis Fowl is _not_, I repeat, NOT dead," she mumbled aloud as she snuck quietly down a long-since-abandon corridor. There was dead silence.

"But," she continued, "to complete the objective, she must first pay off a goblin and take an illegal ride to the surface." The little elf sighed heavily. "Why am I even doing this? Why should I care about that power-crazed prodigy?" She kicked a stone as she thought about it. **_Because he's changed,_** said the little voice in her head, "or at lease...he had...before we..."

"Hey! Yeah, you. Short redhead. You Holly?" Holly looked up and nodded to the goblin. He walked toward her in a wobbly, drunken fashion. "Ok 'den. Follow me."

Before she could say a word, Holly found herself being dragged back down the hallway. "Where are we going? The chutes aren't this way—"

"You ain't goin' up any chute, lady. Yer goin' up a hole." Holly's eyes widened, but shrank again as she let the goblin lead her.

They eventually came to a dark, dark cavern that Holly seemed to recognize.

"This is the diamond mining caves, there's nothing--"

"Are you gonna keep yappin, or are you gonna let me do my job?"

Holly was quiet for a few minutes until they reached the very back of the cave. She stared at the back of the ugly goblin's head, for he'd stopped. He slowly turned to face her. "You ain't one 'a them LEP guys, are ya?" The beady little eyes looked Holly over as she quickly crossed her arms to cover her badge. She slowly shook her head, keeping her cool.

"I'm a girl. Girls aren't LEP _'guys'_." If the goblin was dumb enough to miss her badge this whole time, he'd surely believe that.

And she was right. He grunted and turned back to face the wall. With one quick breath of fire, the thin _"dirt"_ wall crumbled. **_An illegal _tunnel_, eh? Not a chute. I didn't think that seemed logical. A tunnel would explain the recent increase in goblins getting to the surface. But, (and I'll kill myself for this de ja vou,) goblins aren't that smart, and there must be someone helping them._**The two pressed on, until the goblin abruptly stopped and was looking up. There was a hole in the ceiling about 5 foot in diameter. The gobbling blew three puffs of fire into the hole, waited a minute, and then blew one last big one. A rope (or three, actually) fell. Holly wasn't stupid, but she was desperate. And desperate times calls for desperate- well yeah, whatever.

Holly also noticed that she was acting very weird lately. Very weird. Un-Holly like. Hopefully she could figure out why if she saw Artemis.

Holly wasn't really prepared for what was at the other end of the rope. This wasn't just a little hole dug to make some easy money- they had a whole express going on! It was like another city was right under their noses. Another city full of goblins, that is. Besides the people being suited up to journey so close to the center of the Earth it wasn't funny, every other living creature there was a goblin.

The red-haired fairy didn't realize she as being dragged over to one of the many holes. She seized the moment to gather information. "Hey, do you know who's running this operation?"

Again, the goblin eyed her with suspicion. "That's classified stuff--"

"Aw, come on. Please? I won't tell anybody."

"Blue Eyes started us out, so you could say that he's the one runnin' this thing. But he left us a little while back and told one of the other bosses that they were now in charge."

"Is Blue Eyes like a nick name?"

"How should I know? And you can't tell nobody 'bout this."

"I hear you," Holly said with a grin. A lead. Now all she had to do was figure out who this "Blue Eyes" character was and-

But that wasn't the mission objective. (And this wasn't a real mission, but Holly didn't care) She had to stick with the original plan, or it would never work. Keep one thing and one person in mind- Artemis.

**_Wait a second,_ **she thought as she began the long climb to the surface, **_Blue Eyes...Artemis? Could it be that he..? No. No, that's not possible. _**

**_He couldn't be..._**

* * *

One breath of that cool, (well, not exactly fresh, but close enough) air was all Holly needed to know the trip through the Earth was worth it. She still hadn't figured out how a bunch of Goblins could've managed such a complicated dig, unless if this Blue Eyes person was some sort of genius. "Stop it," She mumbled aloud. "It's not Artemis. He's completely lost when it comes to goblins and fairies and things." 

But, there was no time for petty thoughts. She had to perform the transformation soon.

The idea of becoming a human, even if for a short time, had seemed like an adventure at first, but the more she thought about the idea, the more she hated it. There were so many things that could go wrong, and she could be stuck as a mud man forever. Well, until she died at an early age, anyway.

Without giving it another thought to dwell on, Holly reached into her pocket and pulled out a small blue stone. She began to chant...

"Magic stone of blue,

Against the moon,

A wish I bid you grant

Take away the powers

And not within hours,

But within minutes, I have to chant

Forbid my book

And give me the look,

A mud man I will be

To laugh, love

To live above

And last for..."

Holly paused on the last line. She crossed her fingers. The last line was a crucial part in determining her future. It was originally, 'And last for eternity,' but Holly only wanted to be human for a short while. This was how the fairies she'd researched eluded the spell. She concluded that they must've changed the last line to however many days, or years they wanted to stay human. But that was just her well-thought-out guess. She lied to Root about the cure. That was a fact, not a legend. There really was no cure.

So with only a guess to go by, Holly finished the last line,

"...twenty-seven hours."

* * *

**Next time—**I really have no clue...yet! You might find out who Blue Eyes is, though. And I plan to put in a lot of Holly/Artemis fluff! Aah, fluff... My sister hates it, but I'm a sucker for mushy, cute things. 

**a/n—** Oh my freakin wow-man! I am **SO** happy! I love you all! Every single person who reviewed this! No, I will _not_ quit writing on this, (and I hope you liked this chapter, by the way. Maybe it cleared some things up.) I really did not want to stop where I did, but I did. So :p. I can't wait to write the next chapter...

**mad sam:** You are not annoying! And yes, I do love critiques. . I don't think I've ever gotten a longer review! Thank you so much! It seems there's more I need to clear up than I thought. This chapter should've helped. (With both the plot and Holly's OOCness.)

**TrunkyZ:** Holly has to turn human! She has to! It's just that way! :P Thanks for the tips! Gah! I'm so thrilled!

**Everybody Else:** Thank you thank you thank you all so very very much! I'm glad you like this story. Cuz I sure am having a blast writing it. Revising it, no, and getting the plot together, frustrating, but writing it- fun! Thanx again!

Chao for now!


	3. Familiar?

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

_**Chapter 3- Familiar?**_

"AARTYY!!"

Artemis jerked up and looked around in the morning light. Birds were singing and little animals had started to wander into his improvised camping spot. It looked like something from Bambi; it was sickening to see.

At first, he thought he'd heard his mother calling him, since she was the _only_ person who called him 'Arty,' but the figure that emerged from the trees wasn't at all Angeline. It was a young girl, slightly shorter than he, and she was quickly running toward him. "Who on Earth are y—" The girl snagged her foot on a lifted tree root, and collided with an "Ooof" into Artemis. Artemis simply stared, blinking rapidly up at this stranger, trying to determine if this is just a crazy dream. She sent a sarcastic grin at him as she stood. Artemis rolled his eyes as he stood and dusted himself off. This was just a bad week entirely... "Now, as I was trying to ask before, who are you and how do you know my nickname?"

The strange girl had opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated, then instantly froze on the spot. She seemed to be thinking about something or trying to conjure up a plan at the last minute. Artemis knew that look quite well; a lot of people got it when speaking to him.

"I'm... I'm Holly...uh... Hollya! Yes, I am Hollya and you are Artemis." She spoke with that hint of fib that caused Artemis to grow suspicious. She quickly added, "I didn't think it was you at first. I would've never expected you to be all the way out here."

"I'm fairly certain I don't know a... '_Hollya_'."

"Oh, you know me all right," She mumbled quietly.

"What was that?"

"I said I know your mother very well."

"Then why haven't _I_ seen you? Surely my mother would've told me about you."

Hollya giggled the way a tickled schoolgirl would. "Because your mother didn't want you to see me."

Artemis narrowed his eyes. It was natural for him to question everything (when he was sane enough to do so. Lately, it's been nothing but irrational actions...) "My mother didn't want me to see you?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Yes," she winked. "And I can understand why, if you catch my drift. You're not a _little boy_, anymore, are you _Arty_?"

Artemis seemed to growl out a response, "If you think that a genius like me has time, or even would want to, think about love or dating, then you, Hollya, you and my mother both must be out of your minds." He glared as his cheeks started to turn pink. Another thing that was not normal for Artemis Fowl.

Hollya smirked, but changed the subject. "I see you've got a few injuries there."

"And? You can't do a thing about them."

"How do you know, you've never met me."

Artemis didn't like the way she was grinning- like she knew something he didn't. He made sure to watch her extra carefully. "Fine. I'll let you take a look at them. But if you so much as poke me with a stick, I'll have you down on the ground so fast you—"

"Ok, ok, yadda yadda. Enough with the 'you-better-not-hurt-me speech.' I won't, trust me."

**_Trust? _You_? Ha! Not in this lifetime... _**Artemis was shocked when she strode over to him and lifted his shirt. "What the hell are you--?"

"Would you calm down? I'm only checking for major injuries." If smoke could've emitted from Artemis, it would've. He was seething red, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended he wasn't there.

"Well?" He finally asked. He was starting to become impatient.

"You'll be fine if you see a doctor or something."

"Well I knew that!"

"Well...fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Ok."

The last statement was really the beginning of a long staring contest. For at least fifteen or twenty minutes, neither person blinked. A bird actually came by and landed on Hollya's shoulder before she shewed it away, all the while never taking her eyes from Artemis.

Even when an unnaturally strong wind nearly knocked them off their feet, they still never blinked. Artemis never backed down from a challenge. Unfortunately for him, neither did Hollya.

"Artemis? Are you...all right?"

"Yes, Butler, I'm--" The words were out of his mouth before he knew he'd said them. Their stare down was postponed for the moment. Butler was nearly knocked off his feet by the hug Artemis gave him. Nearly. Artemis sighed, gratefully. "Take me home, Butler, before I completely lose my mind."

"Of course, Artemis. There are a lot of things you need to know, at the moment."

Artemis looked suspiciously at the helicopter Butler had come in. There were two short figures smiling like madmen at Artemis and trying to hop up high enough to be seen through the window. When Hollya saw them, her right eye twitched a little.

Artemis had no idea what kind of a volcano was about to erupt...

* * *

Zillions of thoughts suddenly blew up in Holly's mind. Zillions of awful, horrible, job-losing, world-ending thoughts. Of _all_ the fairies in the universe, _he_ was there. He was sitting in a helicopter (with that forsaken dwarf, of all magical beings!) only a few feet away. One thought suddenly stood out from the rest: _He's gonna find out._ Artemis Fowl is going to remember everything he'd learned about fairies, and there was nothing she could do about it. A sad fate indeed. The end of the fairies would be her doing. That _certainly_ wasn't her idea of a happy ending.

They all hastily boarded the helicopter, Artemis eyeing the two small figures curiously. Butler quickly answered the unasked question, "Master Fowl, meet Mr. Diggums and Mr. Ice." He paused, half expecting a sarcastic remark from Artemis. None came. "They say they really need to tell you something. I was reluctant to let them see you privately once you returned, but they said you'd be interested for sure, and I _have_ been watching them very carefully. I thought I'd bring them along so you could decide sooner more than later. It's a good thing I did, as well."

"Butler... Does mother know a- a _Hollya_?" The name still sounded awkward on Artemis' tongue.

Holly jumped and berated herself for treating an injured Artemis any more carelessly than she would a normal Artemis. He was questioning. _Always _questioning; no exceptions. She slipped behind Butler, started whispering quickly, and let a blue glow engulf her hands. She grinned as she mentally told Butler the answer to Artemis' question.

"Of course. She wouldn't want me to tell you, but she's known Hollya Greenleaf for about six months. She knows met mother at a party of some sort."

The boy's eyes narrowed to slits, but he spoke with careful ease, "Very well. Mr. Diggums, Mr. Ice- what business do you have with me?"

Holly stepped out from behind Butler, and blinked in surprise. Her disguise had worked, but she'd thought for sure once Artemis saw those two he'd remember. He was acting like he'd never seen them before in his life. She sighed in relief, and then gulped as she realized why the two beings were so happy. One thing could and _would_ cause Artemis to remember.

"Do you have a coin?" Mr. Diggums asked.

"Why?"

"Have you felt like your life was meaningless lately?" Mr. Ice added.

"What are you two getting at?"

They looked at each other, then back at Artemis. "Well? Do you have one or not?"

Artemis was shaking his head in disbelief. The only coin he'd found was the one that hit his head in the forest... but how could they have known about it? He slowly reached into his shirt and pulled out the round gold object that was tied to a string. Holly nearly fainted. "This? What is it? I'm sure it's no coin I've ever seen."

"It's a disk." They said at the same time. "A disk with the information you've wanted all along right on it."

Holly couldn't believe it. He'd actually done it. He'd actually found a way to escape the Mesmer. She looked ahead at something interesting that wasn't there at all. All the bad thoughts floating aorund in her head suddenly disappeared as her mind wend completely blank. This just wasn't possible...

Artemis asked, "Butler, do we have a computer on the plane?"

"None that I know of."

"My lap top then?"

"No, I didn't think we'd need it."

That was it. The slightest little glimmer of hope for Holly to steal that thing and drop it out the plane window was all she needed. She had to get it, and dispose of it, before a bad situation became seriously worse.

**Next time**—Artemis may have found what he was missing, but Holly has other plans. Will he regain his memory back yet? And who is the fairy with Mulch that Holly seemed so cautious of? Find out... sometime later! :P

**a/n—**I'm happy because I get easily excited. And because I finally found something I enjoy writing on! Sorry if this took a little longer than the other chapters. Marching band competitions every Saturday definitely take a big chunk out of my time. No fluff this chapter, and probably not the next. Plot comes first. But, I will get fluff in there somewhere! I promise! Thanks for all the reviews again. I know there really isn't that many, but it's a lot to me! Chao!


	4. Now it's Interesting

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

**_Chapter 4- _Now _it's Interesting _**

Time seemed to stop and speed up at the same time for Holly. Her plans were nothing but one big whirl windy mess and it seemed time was running out. The plane was soaring smoothly above the towns and small farms of Europe, but it was going slow! When she thought about it, it seemed like they were never going to get there. She could hardly think of a better place to have plenty of time, but her brain was fried. **_Maybe it's the human spell taking effect,_** she thought as sleep fought a winning battle with her eyes. **_It must not have completely sunk in, because I used the Mesmer on Butler. _**She yawned and lazily looked around the plane. **_Maybe it doesn't completely sink in at all..._** Sleep wouldn't win so easily.

Artemis was wide awake, despite what little sleep he'd had, and he was studying a small disk that had bits of gold leaf still on it. Holly frowned. She still wasn't convinced of the fact that he'd actually _beaten_ the Mesmer. Despite the splitting headache forming in her busied mind, she started to develop a plan to dispose of the disk. That, and get rid of Mulch and..._him_.

She turned completely around to see where the two magical creatures had gone. They were snoring loudly, leaned up against the back wall of the plane. Holly shuddered. That fairy was the _only_ fairy that could possibly annoy her more than Chix. How he got hooked up with Mulch, she didn't know. He'd disappeared around the time Artemis first appeared and caused the great uproar. They scared her. A little.

Artemis growled in frustration. He took the disk up to the front of the plane with Butler, and came back empty handed and disappointed. Or maybe just impatient. Holly couldn't tell.

"What's got _your_ undies in a bunch?" she asked casually. Her answer was a soul-piercing glare. She decided to play the part she'd set herself to, "What was that thing?"

"A disk."

"Why would two strangers bring you a disk?"

"I don't know."

"Then why are you keeping it? It could be a bomb or something!"

"If it was a bomb, _I'd_ know."

Holly stared at him for a minute longer. He seemed so much...older. Artemis' age in fairy years was in the infant stage, but he was far from that. His dark bangs drifted just above his icy eyes and the rest of his hair was long enough to almost cover his ears. She assumed he'd been letting it grow out. He never glanced at her again. He simply looked down, trying to burn a hole in the bottom of the plane. Holly pretended to ignore him, but she listened intently as he sighed every few minutes.

Holly's attention was diverted when Fowl Manor suddenly came into view over a hilltop. Panic seized her by the throat. **_My only chance to save the world, and it's landing!_** She dashed to the pilot's seat as quickly as her feet would take her. There were only minutes left. She failed to notice Artemis staring after her suspiciously.

"Butler-eh," **_Think, Holly!_** "Um, Artemis told me he needed his disk back."

"Why?" Butler didn't even glance at her.

"Why! I don't know! He's Artemis!"

"He told me to keep it safe." There was a note of offense in Butler's voice.

"Well, he told _me_ he wants it back."

"I want _nothing_ back from _you_, thank you."

Holly jumped and spun around to face an angry Artemis. His menacing snarl was louder than what it should've been. He leaned forward as Holly tried to lean back, inches from her face, and whispered in that same snarling tone, "I don't know who you are, '_Hollya,_' and I don't know what you're up to, yet, but mark my words, I will find out, if I don't know already. I haven't believed a word you've said, and I get the feeling any questions I might have will be answered shortly." A quick smirk ended that conversation. Artemis grabbed the disk and headed toward the back to prepare for landing.

Holly stood there, horrid realization settling in. Physically, Artemis was perfectly fine, but the one thing she'd hoped wouldn't happen, had. Erasing the changes he went through over the past few years changed _him_. His old, money/power-obsessed self was reborn, in a way. And even if he read the disc, would he change?

Holly was worse off than she thought...

Foaly just didn't understand. And that was saying something. The situation before was: Artemis Fowl is dead. That was that. A computer couldn't lie. But that changed fairly quickly. Suddenly, every computer around the centaur went haywire and shut down, all because of the one up front. Foaly had noticed Artemis' light appear halfway across the screen, but then it blew up. Smoke filled the room, and no sooner was he trying to fan the smoke away, than he was being dragged out of the room himself.

"Where's Holly?" He recognized that voice because he heard it more times a day than any sane person would want to. And he sounded urgent.

"I don't know, I thought she went to talk to you." Foaly sounded slightly sarcastic.

"Don't play games with me, you mule, she's gone!"

"What!"

"Yes! Gone! I don't know where, but none of the other officers have seen her. The last person who saw her was me, and that was over five hours ago!"

"Calm down, Commander. I'm sure she's just out for some fresh air. What _did_ she talk to you about, exactly?"

"She wanted to know..." Commander Root paused. It seemed as if the answer to Holly's location just dawned on him. "The surface..." He mumbled. "Of course!"

"Hmm? You say something? Surface, what?"

"Shut up, Foaly, and follow me."

The first step into Fowl Manor was the hardest step Holly had ever taken. It was like trying to walk into a viper pit: knowing there are snakes in there, but still going anyway. Surprisingly, she didn't feel nautious. **_It must be where I'm human now... If I enter Artemis' house, then the sick feeling doesn't take effect._** She was behind Artemis, who casually, albeit a bit warily, walked behind Butler. Mulch and the other fairy were staying as far behind as they could, watching everything around them suspiciously like they'd stolen a billion dollar jewel.

Angeline was waiting in the center of the room for her only son to return. She had the red eyes and tired look of someone who went through a great tragedy. When Artemis appeared around Butler, she ran to him and flung her arms around him. "Oh, Arty, I'm so glad you're all right! When Butler told me you'd been in an accident, I thought I would die then and there!"

"I'm fine, mother, really. Though I did..." Their conversation faded from Holly's mind as Artemis was led to another room, no doubt to have his injuries tended. A young woman a few years older than Holly-in-her-current-state appeared in the room from around a corner. Holly grinned a broad and mischievous grin.

"Hello," She said.

"Hi," The girl answered. An old acquaintance indeed.

"My name is Hollya. I'm your host's mother's friend's daughter." Holly put a big ridiculous smile on her face.

"Oh, I'm Juliet. Will you be staying here for a while?"

"Yeah, I was on a nature walk when I ran into Artemis. Of course, he didn't know who I was, but I'd been told a lot about him."

"All right. I guess you'll need a room then."

"I guess I will." Holly shrugged. This whole conversation seemed...odd. Maybe it was just the feeling of speaking with someone you knew but they didn't know you.

"Who are the two short fellows?" Juliet asked as they climbed the spiraling staircase.

"I don't know. They wanted to talk to Artemis about something. I think they're salesmen."

"Salesmen? Ok. I think my bro was complaining about something like that." She paused, then continued, quoting, "'Damn telemarketers trying to con us out of our good money with their stupid antics; I'll show them a piece of my mind, I will, you just wait...'" Holly laughed with her at the joke, but they'd reached their destination.

"If you need anything, just tell Artemis to tell me. His room is just down the hall on the right."

"I will. Thanks, Juliet." Holly turned and stepped into the room.

It was exquisite. Too exquisite for a guest room. Who in the world did Artemis have over for guests? Governors? _Kings_? There was a white laced canopy on the queen sized bed in one corner, and the whole room seemed to be decorated in the creamy lace theme. Finely carved furniture decorated the guest room very nicely, along with a few lamps that gave the room just enough light to almost seem...romantic.

She slowly walked to the bed and sat down, enjoying the softness of its foamy mattress. Then she blinked, and reality smacked her awake. This was the home of _Artemis Fowl_. That was not something to be taken lightly. She knew that.

"Enjoying your stay?"

Holly jumped. Artemis two; Holly zero. She jumped, but she turned slowly. Artemis leaned lazily against the polished door frame. He seemed to be trying to keep a blank expression, but the grim happiness was there. He knew something. Holly didn't dare answer.

"Tell me who you really are."

"Hollya."

"Liar. I spoke with my mother just then about a friend who's daughter's name was Hollya, and she said she had never heard of anyone with such a name. She then asked me who the young lady friend was and if that was her. I told her your name was Elaine, and you were a school friend whom I'd brought back with me. I talked with Butler again, and he doesn't seem to remember."

"Why did you tell her—?"

"I want to know who you _really_ are. I get the strange feeling that you're stalking me, no matter how much I may wish to deny it."

"Stalking you? Why would I—"

"I'd like to get to know you, _Elaine_, and learn about the real you, and the you I'm going to create. This should be a very interesting experiment, don't you think?"

"WILL YOU LET ME SPEAK!" Artemis blinked several times at the intensity of her voice. Then nodded, smirking. "Thank you. First of all, I'm _not_ gonna be your stupid guinea pig for some 'experiment' you have. Second, I'm _Hollya_, NOT Elaine. And finally," Holly stopped. She didn't know 'finally.'

"Finally, I have you in my grasp, and you can't do a thing about it. If you were a smart person, you would've never tried to mess with me. And, if you by some chance have any brains at all, you will play along with the part I've given you." He gave a small laugh, "_Guinea Pig_."

"So I'm supposed to just play along with _your_ little charade?"

"Yes."

"You'd like for me to do that, wouldn't you?" Artemis' grin faded and was replaced with a thin, flat line. He glared at Holly, searching her features for some sort of an explanation. He didn't get one. "I'll be gone in the morning," she said carefully. "Even your security won't keep me here."

"I beg to differ. I'll keep you here myself."

"Why are you so interested in me?"

"Because, you have potential."

"What?"

"You've got the skills. You could've stalked me well, had you had a little training."

"I wasn't stalking you!"

"You don't have to lie anymore either."

"I'm not—oh, forget it." The room fell silent for a moment longer. Artemis was the next person to speak, and he spoke in a quiet whisper.

"You know, you _are_ kind of pretty."

He was gone before Holly could answer back. She just glared after him. **_You won't win that easy, Fowl. You don't know it, but I _have_ had training. You don't know it—_** Something blocked her mind from further thought. She gulped as she remembered the disk he was supposed to get tonight. Whatever's on that disk would cause the memory of a fairy named Holly to come rushing back. **_He would know it, then..._**

She leaned back on the bed and mumbled in a hoarse whisper, "D'arvit..."

**Next time—**Fowl's been a crafty little boy of late, and time is running out for Holly. And what are Root and Foaly up to? The evil fairy working with Mulch may just reveal himself in neon lights...

**a/n—**One reviewer lost, but never fear! I _adore_ A/H (duh, I'm the author of this fic!) and I wouldn't stop writing for anything. Though I do hope the rest of you will at least stick around until it's finished. Chao!

_Also_—(for any Fowl fan who is also an anime nut) anybody else think that if they made Artemis Fowl an anime that Artemis should have Ren's English dub voice from Shaman King? (He also does Noa from Yugioh.) I don't know his real name, but I can't watch either character without thinking: "Fowl..."


	5. They Call Me Ice

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

_((Side note:There is angsty-Holly abound in this chappie! O.o))_

_**Chapter 5- They Call Me "Ice"**_

Artemis sat patiently in the den, staring at the two figures on the couch before him. He shook his head in disbelivement. "You expect me to _believe_ something like that?"

"You'll have to," Mulch said quietly, "if it's true."

"It can't be true. That's not possible."

"You do the math, Fowl." Mulch said. He yawned.

"You like deals, don't you Fowl?" The fairy took out a disk covered in gold leaf and flipped it over in his hand, staring at it like it was a diamond.

"How did you get that!" He stayed silent, still staring at the disk. Artemis sighed loudly. "Are you proposing to make one?" The fairy flipped his blue hair arrogently. His grin rivaled Artemis's.

"Why yes, yes I am."

"What kind of deal?" The genius's voice had a hint of impatience. He wasn't about to let some short guy who's mental health was probably _very_ unstable con him into some stupid plot of his. Artemis knew he was plotting. Everyone was plotting.

"What say you to _this_?" Mulch's eyes widened as the fairy pulled out a huge chunk of a _bigger_ chunk of gold. Solid, glimmering gold. Artemis let his own eyes travel from the gold, back to the fairy several times, and said,

"The other end?"

"Hand yourself over to me. Body and mind," He paused before remembering, "Temporarily, of course."

"I don't understand--"

"Believe, Artemis. What we've talked about was no lie--fairies exist, and you're dealing with one. Believe, and you'll understand."

"All right, so all I have to do is hand myself over to you, and when you're done, I get the gold?"

"Oh, but there's more where that came from."

"More?"

"More than your blue eyes could take in." He suddenly laughed at the pun only he got, startling Artemis a bit. "Much more. This is only the beginning of a beautiful partership, Fowl."

"How long?"

"What? Oh, right. Just tonight should do. I may require you again sometime in the future, but one or two hours should suffice."

Artemis was quiet for a while, thinking things over in his head. He'd dealt with tight-asses like him before, recently--stupid jerks who thought that they could somehow outsmart _him_--and he wasn't about to let _anyone_ take advantage of him. But, if it was only for an hour or so, for that much gold...

Mulch tugged at the fairy's shirt. "Are you sure you want to do this?" His whisper was quiet and a little urgent. "What if something goes wrong? Why can't we just stick with the plan we _know_ will work? You're almost talking crazy again!"

"Be quiet. I know what I'm doing." He had to hold back a grin. "I know."

"I sure hope you do."

"Artemis?" Artemis looked up from his thinking. "Is it a deal?"

One last moment of thought before Artemis said, "As long as you swear not to get me killed."

"Good, now close your eyes and sit very still. You won't feel a thing..."

Artemis's world went up in a fury of blue.

Holly's heart was pounding like a hammer in her chest. She tried to ignore it. Fowl manor was as pitch as coal at night, and she could hardly see her own nose. It was the fact that her future depended on this moment alone that pushed her forward. Otherwise, she'd be back home at _her_ house in _her _bed.

She crept stealthily along the halls, peeking around corners for Butler. She couldn't imagine running into the big man at night, wandering around his residence. The thought made the room seem cold. But, for her own luck, no one was to be seen; Fowl manor was silent and Holly pressed on.

Finding that disk was not going to be easy and she knew that. For one thing, Mulch had it. For another, he had a partner in crime. She felt her teeth grit at the thought of him. She could almost see him, smirking in the darkness, waiting for her.

**No,** Holly thought. **No, he will not win this time. He will not, if I have to kill myself to keep him from that. I will never let him humiliate or frighten me ever again. I'm stronger than that...** "Out of all the fairies..." she mumbled, "why did it have to be _him_?"

Holly continued her search through the black halls.

"Commander, I refuse to go in there. We _can't _go in there!Even if it is to save Holly!" Foaly stopped short and groaned in frustration. Again. "Why did she have to come _here_? Why is it always _Fowl_? Why not..little boy blue, or Julia Roberts? Nooo, she has to keep going after Fowl..." Again, he realized what he'd just said...and frowned. No, Foaly wasn't jealous of Artemis. Why would he be? "Mud men..." But, every time he'd seen Holly, she'd been either mumbling about him, or moping about how she couldn't see him.

"Would you shut your flying flap and hurry up!"

"Yes, Julius." Foaly hated the color purple. It just didn't suit Commander Root.

Artemis was walking down the halls with a look on his face that said he'd committed murder and gotten away with it. Being Artemis Fowl wasn't exactly Ice's idea of a fun road trip, but still- the overall plan was working splendidly. **You just wait Holly... Fowl's got nothing on me..** The thought made him so happy, he ran smack into someone. It was hard to tell who in the dark, but he realized quite quickly it was a girl. Perhaps maybe who he was looking for...

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Artemis. What are you doing up this late?"

The stupid maid girl...

"I'm just taking a walk. I couldn't sleep."

"Well, it's really late, you should be in bed."

"I'll go to bed when I please. Or when I'm tied down to it." Juliet frowned, but said nothing else as she walked on.

**Now, besides Angeline, Holly is the only girl left in this house...** Straight ahead, someone with wide eyes had just turned back behind a corner. Ice wasn't about to let her escape. He'd waited too long... If she could be human, so could he. If she could run, he could search. There was no way out now.

"Hollya?" He said, not bothering to hide his smile in the dark, but he sounded confused. "Was that you?"

Holly, thinking too quickly to think of anything at all really, was slumping to the floor. **It's not over,** she thought desperately, **It's not over yet.. I can still escape, if I just run back to the room--**

"I thought it was you."

She slowly peeked up to see Fowl's hand out to help her up. This was new... She took it, hesitantly, shook her head, then stared at him, to be blunt. "What?" He asked, sounding innocent. "I can't help out my guest?"

"So I'm not a guenia pig anymore?"

"A what? Did I say that?"

"You sound...different."

The boy smirked. "So do you, _Holly_."

**He knows... For the love of me, he knows now...** The stricken look on her tan features told Ice his plan was going perfectly. All other thoughts Holly might have had vanished. The entire house was suddenly an eerie silent instead of simply quiet.

"Don't worry," He continued, holding back hysterical laughter, "I'll be sure and let Commander Root give you a proper funeral once I'm done with you."

"WHAT! Fowl, you and I were rivals, maybe even sworn enemies, but you wouldn't kill me..." The words died on her tongue.

"Wouldn't I? Would you really put it past me?"

Holly started to get a strange feeling about the way the conversation was going. It was almost like not talking _to_ Artemis, but rather about him. Wouldn't _Artemis_; would you really put it past _Artemis_; like it was someone else she was talking to. Those icy blue eyes... They seemed lighter...

The mood changed and changed several times as they chatted about old memories and indifferent times. Holly concluded finally that Artemis was either high, or has changed so much that he may not be able to change back. That was something she definately did not want to think about.

"Holly?"

"What?" Holly spat out the word with disgust, but Ice maintained his grin with ease.

"Come back to your room with me. I want to talk."

"Talk? You want to talk and then you're going to _try_ to kill me?" Holly grinned sarcastically.

"Maybe. After we _talk_ I might change my mind."

"I want to get out of here, you hear me?"

"Oh, but as I do recall, you came in here without my permission; did you not?"

Holly growled. If she only had a Neutrino... **I'd blast that grin right off his pretty face! **Holly blinked. **I do NOT think Fowl is pretty! That's just...wrong! Gah!** Holly looked down, her bangs shielding her eyes. She started to laugh softly, then louder.

"What's so funny?" Artemis asked, his gaze unfaltering.

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just--just leave me alone, okay? It's all my fault I'm in this stupid mess, it's all my fault you found out, and it's always all my fault... I don't want to talk to you, Fowl. I just want to go home and pretend you don't exist." She looked up, tears shining in her eyes, gathering in the corners, ready to fall.

Ice stood there and blinked several times before biting his bottom lip and cursing softly. He reached up to wipe a tear away from Holly's eye, but she jerked away. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Holly, don't be an idiot." That was the only thing he could think of to say.

"Let me go." She whispered through gritted teeth. Ice decided he just couldn't let this moment go to waste so easily. That was not part of the plan. He pulled her close in a warm, tight embrace, and gently stroked her hair. It felt silky around his fingers.

"I would never hurt you... No matter how much I might want to. You're right, you do know me too well." He frowned at that and thought Holly gasped. She suddenly pushed away from him as hard as she could and dashed down the other end of the hall, her head down low as she ran. Ice laughed and shook his head slowly. His luagh grew louder, until he abrubtly stopped, and stated in a rather satisfied tone, "I'll let you think that Fowl won't hurt you. You just wait, my dear, sweet Holly. I'll break you yet. Your spirit, your heart, and..." He paused for a thought; "anything else I can break, at that." He grinned maliciously. "I'll break you yet...And Fowl here is going to help me do just that." Ice released his hold on the boy with wicked laughter dying on his lips.

Artemis thought that a headache that size had to mean something serious, but just as the thought crossed his mind, it started to fade, etching in memories that he had not remembered doing. Hollya, err- Elaine, or whoever she was... "I didn't--" He said aloud, and remembered that _he_ really _didn't_. It was that fairy... He'd screwed up any plans he might have had for her. "Idiot, Fowl...You're losing your touch." He thought some more, about what else Elaine had said. "I called her 'Holly.' I sounded like I knew her... She called me her rival..." He lost himself until a conclusion finally came. The disk. He would understand every bit of this if he had that disk, but again, the blue-haired fairy got in his way. **He stole it, somehow, but if an idiot like him can steal something right under my nose, then I can just take it right back.** Artemis chuckled. **Right under _his_ nose.** For once, he completely disregarded the gold.

Holly sat down on the bed, angrily. Too many thoughts were clouding her mind to think on one thing too long, and that wasn't good. She needed to sort out some things. Important things. "First of all, I'll say I'm never trying to fake crying again. That was horrible! He's probably laughing at me right now. Pah!" Holly wiped her redened eyes with her sleeve, laying down on the bed for a better position. She yawned. **I can't go to sleep right now... I'll only be human for a few more hours, unless if it went wrong, and then I'd...** That train of thought ended. She started another one, aloud.

"I don't know why, but I don't think that was Artemis. He just seemed too different from the way he was acting earlier. But, even if Artemis was putting up an act like me, or if it wasn't him, that doesn't change the fact that he knows I'm Holly. And if that's the case..."

**...Then I can't leave.**

"Damn the laws! Damn Artemis!" Holly glanced across the room at her reflection in a mirror she failed to notice before. She was astonished at the face staring back: a scared, lonely, beaten, _defeated_ Holly. The tears threatened to fall again, only this time it was no act. They weren't from sadness either, more of anger toward herself. Slowly, _mechanically_, she stood and strode to the mirror; her expression never changed. She laughed softly, studying her hollowed reflection. "See what you've done, you prissy-ass bastard! I hope you can see what you've done! If you can't, I'll throw it in your face! I'll throw it so hard you'll wish back then you'd never tried to kidnap Holly Short! You'll curse the day your mother layed eyes on your father!"

Her fist collided with the mirror. Tiny shards of her tired expression covered the floor at her feet. She clenched her fist tight, mixing tiny blood drops with the mirror shards. "You've destroyed everything there might've been..."

Holly couldn't tell if the words were for Artemis, or toward herself.

"So? How'd it go?" Mulch was still sitting in the den when the blue-haired fairy awoke.

"Well, it wasn't a _miserable _failure..." He answered, shaking himself to wake up.

"But you failed."

"No, not exactly. Holly thinks Fowl knows; I did accomplish that. And _he_ really _will_ know, eventually, but... I didn't really get anything personal out of the whole ordeal. Just good solid chapters in our little book." He frowned for a moment, then smiled as he did most of the time. "You see, Mulch, my good friend? Everything works out in the end."

"If everything works out like you say, then Artemis will have to see the disk sometime. That was part of the deal _we_ made. He and I."

"Yes, yes. Whatever. If Fowl wants to see the disk he can, now. He'll be curious about this 'Holly' now. No need to keep that from him." He snatched the disk in his hands from the oak coffee table in front of him, mumbling to himself while looking it over, "I love winning. I _will_ win. One can only take so many losses before they hit it big..."

"Are you saying**—**?"

"I'm saying we're outsmarting him, Mulch. We're going to win where so many others, ourselves included, have lost. The little brat everyone below thought could, and _would_, take over the world one day will be outsmarted by the ones who he outsmarted before. Huh." He paused to place the disk back on the table. "Such irony in that... Mulch? What say you to keeping the disk from Fowl?"

"What? We can't do that!"

"But why not? We could let him puzzle it out himself. I don't know why he hasn't already. There's certainly been enough evidence floating around: Holly admitting she's Holly, us, the disk, anything fairy related-it all should've triggered something in that big brain of his."

"I don't know. Maybe they really did wipe his memory clean. Completely, where no memories could return."

"And maybe I'm a Troll's aunt. You are no fairy; I know very well what they did to Fowl, and his memory can be restored. It just takes something so famaliar that everything will all come rushing back in one big cloud of thought. _Then _maybe we can get some real use out of him."

"And tell me," A voice said from the shadows, "what do they call you, fairy?"

The two magical beings were silent as their eyes searched the room. Artemis was well hidden. Silence remained in the room for a very long time. No one moved. The fairy's hand had twitched toward the disk several times, but he'd brought it back. That would be what Fowl is looking for him to do: take the disk right back. "Never state the obvious so carelessly," he whispered. Mulch understood. They remained still, but Artemis had spoken again,

"Well? Are you going to give me a name or not?"

"They call me..." He hesitated by the frantic look Mulch was giving him. Half of their plan revolved around secrecy. "Ice." He looked at Mulch, and saw that he was doing a good job at hiding relief. He was no idiot.

"Well, Ice, it seems to me that you've been a very naughty guest."

"What ever could you mean?" Ice couldn't hide his sarcastic grin.

"I will admit, I was a fool to hand myself over so easily. I should've known any of your plans would definately interfere with mine, but what is done is done. I can only contribute to the future and what _will_ happen. You said we'd have a wonderful partnership, but I believe we just became enemies." His last words were spoken with the chill of a winter night.

Ice thought he felt sweat start to bead on his forehead, but he ignored that for the moment. Keeping Fowl on their side was a critical part, the upmost _crucial_ part to their plan. If he backed down, the whole thing would probably fall. Hastily, he pulled out the chunk of gold he'd had earlier. "Whatever you say..._Artemis_. We had a deal, and you kept your end. I'll keep mine, whether you like it or not." Ice slowly sat the gold on the coffee table and picked up the disk.

...At least, he would've, if the disk had been there.

He growled so loudly that Mulch jumped. Artemis laughed. "So, you first steal it from me, start to give it back, then decide I can't have it? Tsk tsk tsk. You should never try to steal something from me in my own house. You've got no foothold, no base or foundation to back yourself up. I can get it back just as easy as if it was me who'd lost it." He stepped out from the shadow of a large bookshelf, the disk nowhere visible on him either. He strode over to the table and picked up the gold, weighing it.

"How did you get in here without us seeing?"

"Did I not just explain that? This is _my_ house. I know it like I know the back of my hand. There's a small doorway hidden just beside that bookshelf."

"How did you get the disk?"

"You're asking a lot of questions. Who said I have the disk?" Ice thought about that for a moment. He knew Artemis had the disk, it just just a matter of _how_ he had it. Hidden somewhere, or actually in his pocket?

"Well," he stated carefully, "it's no longer on the table where I sat it."

"So it seems." Mulch was being smart and staying out of this conversation.

Ice pondered for a moment longer. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke: "Fowl-" Artemis cleared his throat loudly. "_Artemis_." He paused, as if reconsidering what he was about to say. "I know you're probably angry with me about the whole disk thing. And frankly, I wouldn't blame you. But, on the other hand, there's still many similarities to us. We could be great partners. Mulch has told me much about how you said one day that you two _would_ be partners. I'm not going to bribe you like the last time," Mulch's eyes widened a little, "I'll let you decide." If Ice had any advantage available to him, he didn't show it. He stood as calm now as a pond, placid in the summertime.

Artemis was too busy thinking to notice how Ice looked. Of course he didn't remember telling this "Mulch" that they would be great partners one day, but there did seem to be a great hole in his memories. For a split second, the dreams he'd had came back, and there seemed to be quite a bit more meaning behind them. Strange things, mostly about gaining something he'd once lost (the disk, no doubt,) but there was something else... He shook his head free of dream nonsense, and thought about how many times he'd screwed up lately. Joining these two could be one more mistake to add to the list. Artemis did not want that. But, he did want to keep that disk safe within his own hands.

"All right. I'll make a temporary alliance with you. Would you like to shake on it?"

"No, I'll take your word for it." Ice's grin returned, with an air about him saying that he knew all along Artemis would agree.

Artemis stepped in front of the table, reaching inside the antique milk jug being used as a centerpiece, and pulled out the disk. "Ha," He laughed. That was so simple, anyone could've done it. "It's funny how distracted you two were. You didn't even notice Juliet enter the room. Or leave, for that matter."

"Good plan, Fowl,"(Artemis rolled his eyes)"but why didn't you just tell her to keep the disk until you left the room?"

"I don't have to explain everything, Ice, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stop asking questions. At least around me, anyway." Artemis put the disk in his coat pocket carefully. "In the mean time, I'd like to get some sleep tonight. There's a guest bedroom for you three doors down from..." He paused at the name, considering her for the first time since he was in the hallway. "..from Holly's room." He figured that was her real name. She surely responded to it.

"Well, if that's all you're going to say, then we'll end our little talk here."

"I'll be seeing you two _and_ Holly in the morning."

"Whatever you say, _Fowl_." Ice couldn't help but emphisize that word. It was simply too much fun to annoy little Arty. Artemis ignored Ice and walked out of the room, pretending to yawn.

**Next time—**So maybe they weren't _neon_, but Artemis has an idea of who Ice is and he's about to find out much more. And to top that, Holly's become an angsty nutcase and no one really knows _where_ that could lead. Artemis hasn't really been at the top of his game, but that may very well change soon...if Holly doesn't interfere... . Commader Root and Foaly are gonna have a time getting Holly out of this one...

**a/n—**To say the least, Holly was VERY OOC in this chapter...I think... I know that she's never had an outburst like _that_ in any of the books before. -.-() Blame Evanescence! They're too influential to be normal! I was watching Everybody's Fool on a dvd that my step-sister brought, and it gave me this weird idea that I had to put that scene in my fic... Hmm... Anyway, hope you liked this chapter even though it's full of character-personality-slaughtering! And I'm sorry it took me forever to update! I think my plot-turkey got eaten on Thanksgiving... I try, really!

**kissimi-crazy—**Fourteen, when my muses tell me too, and this chapter is 3 pages longer than the last one. Hey, one day I might have to separate my chapters into 25 pages at a time like my idol-fanfic authoress, Gravidy, but until then, I have to take it one step at a time. Shorter chapters (and reviews, might I add) means quicker updates. Glad you liked it!

**trohS-ylloH—** I like your name. It confused me at first, but then I thought it was a great idea once I figured it out. Thanks for the review!

**Amy Shadows—**Yes, Mai would be great for Opal. I agree, completely. Thank you for reviewing!

**Everybody else's comments—**Well, it seems the most common critique for me is keeping Holly in character, and this chapter probably only made that much worse cough BUT, I shall try to get her back into her regular, kick-ass awesome attitude soon. Promise. Cross my fingers--I mean, heart:P Another was that you all find this very humorous, which is fine with me. I don't really care how you take it. Telling me helps me find out what I'm good at writing, genre-wise. Anything else? Thanks to everybody else as well! It takes to long to say "thanks" about a zillion times. A review for me maybe? Yes? Chao for now!


	6. Give Her Up

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

_**Chapter 6- Give Her Up**_

The computer screen shining in the dark room was the only thing keeping Artemis awake. That, and the three glasses of rich, black coffee. To say the least, what he read scrolling down each page fascinated him, and not because of the fact that it was unbelievable information either, but rather that he was the one who'd discovered it. "Fairies…" he murmured quietly. "An interesting species indeed." He paused, taking a rather large sip of coffee. "Holly said that I should have some sort of memory back, but I don't." With that flat statement, he continued reading.

When he finally glanced at the time near the bottom of the screen, he practically fell asleep on the keyboard then and there. Six twenty-two a.m. Fairies were interesting, but a boy needs his rest.

So, groggily sitting up straight while rubbing his eyes to stay awake, Artemis turned off the computer. As if doing that had opened up his mind, many thoughts came rushing up. Who really is "Ice"? What was he planning? Who in the _world_ is Holly? The information disc said we were rivals...Why do I like her hair and her ears?

That last one made him blink in surprise. And maybe blush a little. Maybe. The thought disturbed him. "I do NOT like her. I don't even _know_ her! Besides, she said that I was her rival, so that basically settles it." Artemis crossed his arms in frustration. He had to find a way to fill the holes in his memory. He _had_ to, and not tomorrow, either. This problem had to be fixed tonight.

The walk to Holly's room didn't take over a minute. It was after he'd gotten there that it took five minutes just to decide to knock on the door. He heard a mumbled "Come in…" It was not a cheerful kind of "come in."

"Holly?" Artemis stepped inside the room…

…and was shocked to see shattered glass and blood spots on the cream carpet. "What the hell did you—!"

"Don't start with me, Mud Boy. I'm REALLY not in the mood." Artemis clamped his mouth shut. He found that odd- obeying her like he wanted to, almost. But, regardless of whether she was moody or just being stupid, he still needed his problem fixed. According to his reading, "Holly" was supposed to be a feisty _fairy_ actually resembling him a lot, if he'd been a girl, anyway. This Holly did not look like Ice, who he knew was a fairy. She was a human.

The thought occurred to him that if she was indeed human, then she couldn't help him with his problem. This was critical, because otherwise, he'd need to seek help from…_Ice_… He would not do that.

Artemis felt his eyes grow wider as a blue glow suddenly enveloped Holly's hands. He watched any shards of glass that were in them fall to the floor, and the bad slices instantly heal themselves. Something in the back of his head tingled. Like an itch he couldn't scratch, or a book on a shelf that he just couldn't reach. **She healed herself…with magic…**

"Well, that was interesting. I'm pretty sure I don't know any other human who can do _that_.**" **He said, trying to be nonchalant.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you know I'm a fairy. Fairies use magic. That's simple enough for a genius, right?"

"You don't look like a fairy."

"I will in about a half hour." Holly stood up. "So? What is it you want? Don't expect me to think you came up here at 6:30 in the morning just to chat with me. You know very well that I can't leave until you say. So, what?"

"I want my memory back."

It was Holly's turn for wide eyes. "But, you have it back…don't you?" Her expression seemed to change back and forth from surprise, and anger at being outsmarted.

"No. I don't."

"But—what about in the hall? And that wasn't really me; I was acting." Holly felt her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "Just so you know. I'm not a whiney-ass crybaby. I never cry. Unless if on purpose."

"That wasn't me either, I-" That was all he needed to say. Holly's face finally had settled on extreme rage. It not only was red, but her teeth were bared and she seemed to be growling. "Hold on! Before you do anything irrational, let me ask you something."

"Like what? You have one minute."

"Can you use…magic…on me?" Artemis twisted his lips around those words like they were dirt on his tongue.

"Why in the name of the bloody king of Scotland would I want to do that?"

"I'm not sure myself. I just need to know something. Holly, my memory hasn't returned, and I've read every bit of information I can to get it back. I do know about fairies again, but that's not enough. I want to know what happened two years ago."

Holly started to say "fine," but then something she learned from Artemis himself kicked in. "Will you let me leave if I do this for you?"

Artemis thought on that for a moment before answering. "I guess. I don't know if you'd want to. You're an LEP officer, and from what I understand, there are two criminals in my residence." The boy now had a slight grin.

"Good. No, I'll send someone else to deal with those ruffians. Hold still."

For some reason unknown to him, those two words made his heart race. Maybe it was the way she said them, or the way she walked across the room to him. He wasn't very tall, but Holly was short. Short_er_, anyway. He took a step back, and Holly frowned at him. "Do you want to do this or not? I don't have to, but I'd like to get as far away from this place as I can."

Artemis sighed and nodded. He tried to keep himself still from shaking. Her hands, now soft and smooth like a child's, lay gently on his cheeks. His breath suddenly caught in his throat. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked. "You're shaking like a leaf in October."

He didn't know what to tell her. No, he wasn't 'okay'. Yes, he was shaking quite noticeably. But to say, "Holly, I'm extremely nervous because I like it when you touch me," would be blasphemous. He tried not to gulp, and nodded again. That seemed to be all he was capable of doing at the moment.

The book he wanted suddenly fell off the shelf. The itch was scratched. As a blue glow surrounded him, memories filled him. So many things that he should've known- wanted to know- came back in a beautiful light shade of blue. As the glow faded, Holly stepped back a little. "Holly?" He said hoarsely. She looked up. "Can I still call you Elaine?"

"AAH!"

Smack.

Artemis saw little white spots appear in front of everything else, but they faded quickly. His fingers touched his face lightly. It hurt, but… No, he wasn't going to call it a "good" hurt, but rather, like he deserved it.

That did not matter. She still smacked him.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"FOR BEING—STUPID!"

"STUPID!"

"YES! STUPID LIKE YOU!" This crazy girl was being…a girl. He sighed. Trying to understand girls was like trying to tell a fish why a bird flies and it swims. They were just two different things. "Look, I—" He was going to explain something he thought he didn't understand, but found out he did. He did remember things. He blinked at Holly, seeing her in a completely different light. She slowly tilted her head up at him, frowning- though...it almost seemed like she wanted to…

Foaly and Commander Root both stood crouched outside Fowl Manor. They were alone, but this mission was easily solved; wait till Fowl comes outside, demand he let Holly go free, and be back on their way.

No. Foaly knew very well that wasn't the answer. What if Fowl knew? What if he really had escaped the Mesmer? It was impossible for anybody, but was it impossible for a genius? Artemis wasn't just anybody.

Now Foaly was nervously shifting from hoof to hoof, hoping Julius would hurry up with this grand plan of his. It was almost time for the sun to come up, and that meant getting back underground as quickly as possible. Root looked as though he were a statue, standing there, all ready and alert.

"Hello, there, friends! It's been quite a while, you know."

The two whirled around, and saw nothing. They knew who was there, and they knew he was a fairy. Root was firing a Neutrino before Foaly had the chance to stop him.

"Hey! Calm down, you old mammoth, I'm not gonna do anything!" Ice revealed himself as he calmly landed in front of the Commander. Root, though, didn't look calm at all. He looked rabid. "There. What brings my old buddies up this far?"

"We should be asking you that. You went missing at about the time Fowl came several years ago. And I don't have time for questions; put your hands up and I won't kill you."

"Commander…" Foaly said quietly, but Root brushed him off as just being annoying.

Ice tilted his head slightly sideways. "How in the world could you kill me? That's illegal anyway. I would know, after such a brilliant performance on Mulch's court date." He paused, then said slowly and clearly, "I'm on my way to India, Root. And I'm taking Holly with me. You might need Fowl's help on this one, too. Oh, and don't rush off too quickly. That could lead you right to your death." The reaction from Root was exactly what Ice wanted.

"Why are you telling us this?" He was still alert, though enraged.

"Commander!" The centaur yelped suddenly.

"Foaly, not now!"

"But, I really think you should look—"

At that moment, the ground they were standing on caved in. Ice flew up above the large hole they'd been plunged into and laughed. He loved winning. Root looked funny in a hole, since he by some chance didn't have his wings.

"See? What'd I tell you. My plans always work," Mulch said. Root realized his mouth was hanging open in disbelief, and he snapped it shut.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ice continued. "I knew it would work too. All I needed to do was keep Julius down there angry enough to annoy the donkey." His grin was maddening. "You asked me why I'm telling you my plans? To make it interesting, of course. What sort of insane super- villan wouldn't want to have fun while he takes over the world?"

"Well," Root asked through gritted teeth, "if you're so cocky, then why not tell me what you plan to do in India?"

"If I told you that, then it would spoil the surprise, don't you think? I'll leave it at that. Now, I must go find my queen…"

"ICE! GET BACK HERE!" Root fired the last of the Neutrino's shots, but Ice was long gone, and so was Mulch. Foaly was already at work with a way to get them out.

Kiss: To touch or caress with the lips as an expression of affection, greeting, respect, or amorousness.

Was that even in Artemis' vocabulary?

He stepped back breathless from Holly. He had just shared his first kiss with a fairy in a human body. Who would believe him? He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. It was like, being in shock, only he knew what he _wanted_ to do. He wanted Holly to kiss him again. _He_ wanted to kiss _Holly_ again. He shuddered slightly.

The tan girl looked up at Artemis with a confused expression. Kissing Artemis had been like kissing flower petals… Weird. But he was kind of a nancy-boy. His name was even girly, but… Holly thought he was beautiful. She couldn't love him, she knew that, but he was perfect on a level that she didn't understand. She watched him take a few steps back from her and slowly sit down in a dark colored chair. He closed his eyes.

**_Ha! He's probably trying to find a 'logical explanation' for why I kissed him. I'll bet he thinks I'm trying to seduce him. _That's _a laugh!_** Holly even chuckled aloud.

And she was right. Artemis was deep in thought. **Was she trying to seduce me into letting her go just in case I go back on my word?** Ironic how the two were so much alike. **No… There's something more there. I could see it in her eyes when I leaned back…**

There was a loud knock at the door. Artemis and Holly exchanged sidelong glances. Artemis was the one to open the door. There was no one there. He suddenly heard Holly scream, but as abrupt as that was, it stopped equally as fast. In the two seconds it took him to turn around, Holly was gone. He could hear a distant laughter, taunting him. A voice was saying, "Remember our deal, Fowl. That's a lot of gold--all yours, if you keep your nose out of this; I no longer require your help." A slight pause, then the voice returned. "She's mine. She's mine, and you'll never have her." The last of the words seemed to burn. "She's a fairy, mud boy. Give her up before she gives up you…"

It echoed in the still and silent room.

**a/n—**ok, that took even longer to update, and because I wasn't consistant, I got nearly no reviews. (big sad face) But, I'll finish this non-the-less. Maybe I'll even get some new reviewers! I miss the old guys, but hey, I write for myself and for the people who love what I write. If they're busy, okay! I don't mind. But I'll NEVER ever ever give up on a fanfiction that I put up here. If it kills me, I'll finish it. So with that bit of info, I'll bid you adue. I won't even give a hint as to what's gonna happen next, cuz I really don't know… Thanks, as usual, and good-bye for now. The Fowl Ficlett WILL continue!


	7. Something Magic Stirs in South Asia

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

"Ficlett the fowl.. before the Fowl... ficlettes _you_."--- the all-mighty Shan-chan (on Don't ask; I don't know what it means either. But it sounded pretty cool. :)

_**Chapter 7- Something Magic Stirs in South Asia**_

India.

Religous holy grounds for all species. Who could've guessed it was seething with natural power too?

Ice did, of course- the devil...

When Holly first arrived, the sheer magical force of the place hit her like an anvil. It was torterous to still have all the qualities of a fiary and to not technically _be_ a fairy. Yes, she was still a human. No, she didn't know why. It was four hours past the time she was supposed to be shorter and have pointy ears, and it was starting to become bothersome, and slightly worrysome. But this place was definately magical, and why the LEP never wanted to check it out was something she'd have to discuss with her commander.

Holly was currently contemplating a way to escape the evil leash the blue-haired fairy had on her. She'd crossed off every way she could think of: running, hiding, pretending to be a native, holding Mulch hostage, even a voiced threat that she would commit suicide- nothing worked. He always knew what she was planning and he always knew how to counter it. Possibly, Mulch was her problem- overhearing her mumblings then prancing back to tell his all-mighty master. It made her sick.

Not only was Ice a mean super-villan wannabe, but he was also very uncreative. "Why should I waste _my_ brain power, when you've already done that for me?" he'd said. "Good job, my peach. I'm impressed."

Oh, how she could just blast him with a Neutrino until he was nothing but a repulsive lump of intestines!

Ice was also now in the physical form of a human. He'd flirted with Holly the whole time since they arrived and had personally seen to it that she was publically embarrassed. How in the world he figured out how to become human in such a short amout of time, she didn't know; unless it had something to do with that big head of his having something in it besides hot air. **What_ a stupid idea!_ **Holly thought miserably, **_Why didn't I just listen to Root for once? Stupid fairy!_**

She didn't know if she meant Ice or herself. Trying to become human was definately a dumb idea. She'd have to put it on her Don't-_ever_-do-that-again list.

"Hey, Ice-" She said, looking at a beautiful Indian dress made of silk. Ice turned around. "Why did you take me here?" Holly had her suspicions, but needed them confirmed by the mastermind.

"I can't tell you because it's a _surprise_, my love," he grinned evily.

That cocky little piece of Goblin's ass... The nerve! "Well, tell me anyway," Holly said slowly through gritted teeth. She refrained from knocking the stuffing out of him. "I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one, my little _princess_," Ice replied. He flipped out a coin and bought the dress Holly was looking at. "Believe me, it will blow you off your pretty little feet."

* * *

Artemis Fowl was infuriated... at himself. With every ounce of on-track minded criminal genius he had, he couldn't even think up a simple plan to get Holly back. Or stop Ice, for that matter. He wasn't stupid, but he was sure acting it. It was like the feel of Holly's hands hadn't worn off yet... The fuzzy feeling was clogging up the good half of his brain. He'd have to do something about that.

Where did Ice go? Why did he take Holly?

And more importantly, why did Artemis even care?

He shook his shaggy, dark hair in frustration. **Think...think!** Time passed by slowly as he sat in the luxurious guest room alone, contemplating things normal people didn't have the caliber to even _try _to understand. How to find a fairy-human without knowing where in the world (literally) she was...

He looked up quickly, his chain of through broken, as the large window beside him shattered into lots of tiny pieces and a three-foot, purple faced commander rolled over to Artemis' feet. The boy blinked, then set to quickly adjusting his partially-formed plan.

"Commander Root," he laughed, "so you've decided to come barging into my residence without my permission? The last time we spoke, you were tampering with my memory; shame. on. you." Artemis waved his finger, but Root wasn't in the mood for petty jokes. His expression darkened.

"Fowl..." he said slowly, blocking out the weak, sick feeling of having entered Artemis' house, "I don't have a clue why I'm telling you this, but Foaly says you could be a crucial asset. I think you're much more of a danger to our world than a cool new spy, but I'll give it a go. Once."

"So, Foaly's here too? How _ever_ ddi you find time out of your busy schedule to come and see moi?" So there was a little humor in Artemis after all. His head felt light, save for the slight planning he'd done moments ago.

"Cut the crap, Fowl, and listen to me. A highly dangerous fairy with an IQ to rival yours has taken a hostage- my Captain- to India. We don't yet know what he wants, but this is fairy business-"

Artemis, mumbled, "Isn't it always?", but Root ignored him and went on, "-so you need to stay out of the way as MUCH as possible; do I make myself clear?"

The boy-genius rolled his eyes and mock-saluted. "Yes, sir!" His tone was very bored.

Artemis mumbled quietly on this new information- "I know about Ice and Holly... and now I know _where_ he went..."

"Did you say something?"

"No."

"Good. I've already sent agent Trouble and his team after Ice, but I'm very low on magic and I need a way to get there. You have a plane." Root said it as a matter of fact instead of a request for a flying machine.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Artemis looked out the window. He wasn't really paying much attention to Commander Root. He was busy with his own personal plannings. so he knew where Holly was (to a certain degree) and he had a way to get there, but how, exactly, to get her would be another matter. He was also worrying himself over the fact that he'd been very out of character lately, and it had something to do with his bizzare interest in Holly. He felt normal by now, since it'd been an hour since she was kidnapped and she was miles and miles away. He could make snide comments at Root all day long and not even lift a brow- but whenever Holly was around, his words faded away...

The only way to solve his problem seemed to be to talk to Holly herself.

"Well? Are you gonna get going or are you gonna just stare at the clouds all day!"

"Don't pop a blood vein, Root, I'm thinking. And you _know_ what happens after I've thought for a while."

"Heh, yeah. Trouble with a capital _'T'_."

Artemis looked down at the floor and mumbled for a moment. (That makes another bad habit to break..) "Trouble... He is one of your fairy officers, correct?"

"Yes, I told you that."

"And he is already in India?"

"Yeah, but I don't see where you're-"

"Can you contact him?"

"Of course I can! But I still don't-"

"Tell him to stay right where he is. I don't want the fun to start without us there. It seems I'm going to have to deal with Ice _his_ way for a while."

Confusion, or misunderstand, or maybe just plain idiocy- all three together couldn't describe the look on Root's face.

"Yes," Artemis continued, standing to exit the room, "I'll play your little game, until the time is right to bend the rules a bit. Come, Julius. I've got to round up Butler. We're taking a trip to India by my latest new toy- the rocket-jet 9000, specially designed by yours truly."

The commander sighed and followed Artemis out of the room.

Surprisingly, Butler had already found Foaly and gotten him out of the huge trench. The centaur was explaining to the bodyguard his extrodinary plan to get them out. "So I kicked Julius as _hard_ as I could, and sent him flying into Fowl manor, where he could plead for help from either you..or Artemis..." his voice trailed off as Root shot him a death glare and stood up straight, tapping his foot in annoyance.

"Some help you are, ya mule! Beg for Fowl's help... I'll be toasted by a Goblin first!" Foaly laughed quietly, but Artemis spoke up unexpectedly,

"I'll remember that."

Everything turned quiet for a long moment, though the expressions from Artemis' comment differed quite bluntly: Butler was smiling fondly, Foaly's mouth was open in a suspended 'Huh?', and Root's face was now a deep plum color. After a few more moments of silence, Artemis said, "Come now, we've got other serious business to attend to besides stupid jokes. Foaly- can you fly a jet?"

The centaur snorted. "Can I fly a jet... Can a monkey eat a banana?"

"Excellent, because I need to speak with Butler on the way there. This trip won't take over ten minutes. Butler?"

The bodyguard looked up. "Yes?"

"I have a very important job for you, and it needs to be done quickly and efficiently. First- I must know if you'll accept this duty. If you cannot perform at that standard, it is perfectly all right."

He looked slightly confused that Artemis had _asked_ him, instead of _told_ him to do something like he would normally, but he answered without flinching, "It is my duty, Artemis."

"Fine. Let us board, then."

Artemis and his group were immediately well on their way to India. He'd constructed the jet very well- the interior was as comfortable as a hotel room suite, while in reality the land outside was flying by at a speed that neared how fast sound traveled. Beckoning for Butler to follow him to the back, Artemis took a seat. They were both out of earshot of Root and Foaly, so Artemis continued quickly. He didn't have long to explain this. "Butler, it has clearly been stated that I have been decieved. Ice- the _'salesman'_ with blue hair- was only using me to get to Hollya, who you will now remember as Holly. It also seems that, though I really hate to admit it- he is indeed an opponent with smarts to challenge my own. I'm deeply disappointed in his accomplice- Mulch- who has very stupidly taken up with the wrong side. We used to be friends. Are you following all this?" Butler seemed to be realizing something; Artemis knew what it was, too. Memory restoration- how it soothed his soul.

Butler looked up at Artemis and said, "This is all very useful information, Artemis, but what does it have to do with the thing you want me to tackle?"

Abruptly, Artemis started laughing, as if Butler had made some sort of a joke. "Hehe...tackle...Mmm..." He scratched his head thoughtfully. "That _would_ be and efficient way to do it. Butler- I need you to kidnap Mulch Diggums from Ice. We're going to propose a trade off."

Butler pondered on this for a long time. He wondered why Artemis would have such a simple task. His usual plans were all deep and complex, yet all he wnated was a person. Or fairy, or dwarf, or whatever Mulch was. It didn't matter. He was supposed to kidnap the thing, and that was that.

Artemis smiled at Butler's deep-in-thought look. He stood and stated in an acute tone, "I have my reasons."

* * *

Ice was leading Holly, now clad in her radiant, orange Indian dress, down a long-since abandoned hallway. They were in a Palace. She'd tried to mark things and places in her mind (a potted plant here, a cracked pillar there) but eventually she became so lost that she didn't think she'd ever make it out again. Her only option was to follow Ice and hope that he didn't leave her there. What's worse, Holly coule feel her magic slowly slipping away, like sand through her fingers. When was the lsat time she'd perfomed the ritual? She couldn't remember. Why was that ALWAYS her biggest problem at the time!

Ice looked back at his new traveling companion and smiled. She was so beautiful... and so fragile; so easily broken. He wanted to break he, and he would, just you wait. He winked at Mulch, which was his signal to the Dwarf that it was "almost time." Holly would assume he'd winked at her, while in reality it was a signal that she really should've recognized. When the blue haired fairy rounded a corner, suddenly, everything was black; all the lights had gone out. Ice couldn't resist a snicker as he moved slowly toward Holly.

Holly's breath caught in her throat. **_Well, this was unexpected..._** She felt around for the wall, but a pair of gentle hands lighted on her waist, stopping her movement completely. She knew their owner. She felt his body leaning further against her, his chin on her shoulder. she tried to pull away when those soft cands skated their way up her bosom, but he held her tight. Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough... She would deny it, but part of her didn't want to move.

She couldn't move an inch if she _had_ tried. She was helpless, deep in a palace with no source of salvation, as Ice laughed in her ear- a delicious and bone-chilling, sweet cackle.

Holly wouldn't allow that for long, though. She'd think of something to get out of there. She had to, otherwise be raped by a psycho and live the rest of her thousand plus years wanting to die. If no one came for her, she'd just have to get out of Ice's grip by herself.

* * *

**a/n—**ok, yes, I have finally updated (Tch, after about half a year... sorry guys.) I made a promise I meant to keep. I may finish this pretty soon, though... I've got this other thing I'm working that will NOT be humor and WILL be rated M for all the juicy bad things I can put in it. -laughs like evil villianess because she can- Sadly, my muse for the fowl ficlett is lost somewhere. Again. I think I saw it floating behind a cloud just now, but I'll have to get back to you on that.

I'm posting this chapter anyway, since I got even MORE reviews, that I never, ever in a bagazillion years thought I'd get. Thanks to** CSIfreak92, beeble, spastic chicken, HollyShortgirl,** **Black Aliss, **and especially **Scarab, DarkFlames3185 **and**Mirany **for reviewing chapter six. You guys know you rock, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. -nods- **S, DF3185 **and**M**, youguys gave the fowl ficlett new life. You reviewed FIVE WHOLE MONTHS after the chapter was posted and brought back my inspiration and dedication to this, and for that, I thankies thee. (Though I silently wonder whyS and M areboth anon. and decided to review on the same day... freaky...) Thank you thank you thank you!

Now I must get back to work on chapter eight, so good luck with finding good fics. I hope one day mine can be as good as those that get three hundred reviews, and again, I'm pleased you all like this. It's been a heck of a lot of fun to write! ---Shaku


	8. Trust Me

**Artemis Fowl: Blue Eyes**

_**Chapter 8- Trust Me**_

**a/n- **Have you ever had this really old story that you've had writer's block on for nearly three months, and then you just wake up one morning and it's like, "Hey! I'm gonna write a new chapter on that fic that's a hundred years old today!"? Well, there's my reason for finally updating.

* * *

"You're telling me that even though you have all this advanced technology, and even though you're supposed to be decades and decades older and,"(a slight cough here)"_wiser_, than myself- you have the gall to tell me that you - still - can't - find - her?"

Artemis was standing off to the side of an interesting shop stall in the Indian market place Trouble had instructed them to go to. The man was trying to sell him a silken dress. Idiot. He'd waited there for about half an hour before he started to get a bit impatient. Root had flew off somewhere, and Foaly had insisted that he stay with the jet. The only problem was that when Root returned, he had unpleasant news. Hence, Artemis gets angry.

"Well?" he asked impatiently, "Are you just going to hover over my head all day or are we going to find Captain Short?"

"We'll find her as soon as we know where to look, you little-" Root paused when he noticed the stern look Butler was giving him. Even though he was invisible to Butler and Artemis, the manservant still somehow managed to know exactly where he was. Scary. "Look- I don't know where she is, Trouble don't know where she is, and I'm pretty sure _you_ don't know where she is either, so get off my case already! I'm trying to find her just as hard as you are!" He paused. "Hey! Artemis-? Are you listening to me?"

Artemis scratched his chin thoughtfully, ignoring Root. He'd already dubbed the fairy as an uninformative pawn even less useful than Foaly. The purple faced commander was just another annoying fly buzzing around his ear. What he was really fretting about was Holly. How did _she_ possibly get mixed up in all this? More importantly, _why did he care_? Ice was a nobody to him- a useless fairy with an eye for women. Artemis winced as the thoughts sprung about his head. He still tried to convince himself that he did not like Holly.

For his plan to succeed, he needed to know where Ice was hiding. Bulter can snatch Mulch away while they're not expecting anything. Oh, Artemis knows better than to underestimate the little dwarf- he was the one who had helped Artemis regain his memories, after all- but if he were smart, he would've never done such a stupid thing.

Immediately his thoughts sprang up on a different course. **_Me working with Ice..._** Like two minds of that caliber could "get along." Tch. Once he had Mulch in his backpocket, he could propose a trade off. So Butler thought that was the entire plan, did he? He never did have an eye for deception or plot.

The raven haired boy hadn't realized he was pacing. Did he worry over the fairy as much as he thought he did? He didn't know which "fairy" he was talking about. Maybe both of them- Holly _and_ Ice.

He forced himself to stop pacing and turned to Butler. With an ominous growl in his tone, he hummed softly, "A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go..."

* * *

Holly's breath was caught tight somewhere between her mouth and her lungs. She couldn't just stand there, waiting on someone who might never find her. That was stupid and most unlike her. Thus, with a frown creasing her brow, she used her last five minutes to form some sort of plan to get away from Ice.

First, she noticed a dim glow coming from several feet away- possibly another room or hallway with some illumination. The darkness was beginning to play tricks on her... Then, she realized the ground she was standing on was wet, like she was in a puddle a few inches deep or something. She leaned down and cupped her hands in the liquid, brought it back up to her nose, and found that it did not have a smell. She gently poked at it with her tongue; it did not taste either. It was cool, clear water.

The only two crucial pieces of information she could grasp were useless. How could a light she couldn't get to help her? What was such a small amount of water good for? She could listen to Ice's low chuckles for eternity and still not have enough time to think of a plan. She hung her head low and tried desperately to summon up some of her well-known courage and/or determination. She couldn't find it.

Mulch was loudly munching and crunching on something somewhere else in the room. When he spoke, Holly heard his voice echo: "Hey Ice... How long do you suppose we'll wait down here?"

There was a short pause as Ice contemplated the best answer. "As long as we must, my friend. Trust me."

Mulch mumbled about impatience or something of the like, but Holly could've cared less. She hurriedly put one and two together- water, small light, echo... Sewers? No... Maybe just an underground water reserve for the palace. Either way, she knew they were underground, and she knew they were in some sort of tunnel.

Frantic for an idea (anything!) Holly then heard what she'd been dreading; Ice's footsteps were splashing toward her. She didn't need him to send her off as bait for his silly little mind games. Whatever rivalry he had with Artemis was none of her concern. Holly did the only thing she could think of, hoping to catch Ice off guard and have the element of surprise on her side- she screamed.

And it worked. She could hear Ice stumble backwards by the quick splashes, and as soon as she heard that, she bolted straight for the light. With her last bit of fairy magic, she boosted her speed by maybe thirty seconds. Thirty seconds that were crucial to her escaping.

With all the echoing, there was no way she could've known that Mulch was sitting right there waiting for her, several feet away from the light. All of the pride that Holly had for making a near escape floated away. All of that effort into such little conditions with so little time... She'd failed. She'd failed and Artemis wasn't coming. Ice wasn't cackling now. He was growling. Holly could do nothing but stare down the darkness. The cold mask of defiance she wore on her face wasn't the same as the butterflies that were swarming in her stomach.

"You ungrateful little girl..." Holly felt a sharp pain across her face. She realized two seconds later Ice had smacked her, and she fell like a rag doll onto the moistened ground. "You diliberately did that, when I was the one who _saved_ you from that Fowl character. Such shame you place on your hero."

"He's no hero," Holly said angrily to no one in particular, "and neither is Artemis. They're both jerks. All guys are nothing but jerks!"

"What was that?"

"I said you were a-"

Holly gasped as all of her breath was kicked out of her by Ice's boot. She lay there, staring at a ceiling who-knows how far up, gasping and crying silent tears that she refused to acknowledge. She could be strong... She _had_ to be strong... She couldn't tell if the blackness around her was real or if she was unconscious. "My little peach- your dress!" Ice mumbled in mock shock. So she _was_ conscious. "It's all wet! Here," she could tell when he was smiling in the way he talked, "Let me help you with that..."

Holly shrieked as loud as she could. Her cry was soon mixing with Ice's maniacal laughter, all of that making a strange chorus with the echoes off the walls. The only thing stopping her from drowning herself was the thought of Artemis' beautiful blue eyes. She all but bluntly refused to take Ice's outstretched hand.

In the midst of Holly's anguish- it was a completely irrelevant thought, really (you're said to think things like that when all hope is lost)- she remembered the goblins back at Haven, in the diamond mines... She remembered that fellow saying something about their leader calling himself "Blue Eyes." She thought she'd actually considered Artemis as the owner of that nickname. Thinking about his eyes was probably what triggered the memory, though that wasn't why she was slightly stunned. It was almost too coincidental; Ice had blue eyes. She could almost see them glowing there in the darkness. He was a genius mastermind who very well could've organized the whole thing, but her hope was nearly obliterated...

Holly spoke carefully at first, "You were the one who set up the goblins underground, weren't you?"

Ice stopped laughing abruptly. "What goblins?"

A new spark of victory bloomed in Holly's chest. "Don't play dumb with me, 'Blue Eyes'. Did you think I'd turn against my old rival just because his eyes are blue too? He's not the only one, you know."

If Holly could've seen Ice's glare, she probably would've scooted a few more feet back. He didn't say anything. He didn't _do_ anything. He simply stood there and sneered at the girl who, indeed, was _not_ broken and did _not_ have all hope lost. On the other hand, Ice was a genius, and his plans would not be foiled so easily. If Holly wouldn't break, maybe she would bend...

* * *

The feeling of having a wall stuck between yourself and your goal was almost enough to make Artemis pack up, turn around, and head straight back to Fowl Manor. Almost. Knowing that Ice and Holly were so close, but not knowing exactly where they were was driving him mad. He was _so close_... He needed something. He felt like he was grasping thin air in a vain attempt to hold on to something while falling. He needed a turning point.

Neither did he know how soon he would get one.

The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up, alerting him to the prescence of someone standing behind him. When he turned, he saw no one, but when he looked closely he could see the slight blur where a fairy was hovering. At first, he thought it was Root, back with more information. A girl's voice told him differently. "Hello, Artemis Fowl." Butler tensed, hearing Artemis' name, poised to protect should the need arise.

Had Artemis not been a cool, collected, young genius, he would've stumbled backwards and openly gaped. Instead, he sneered at the voice with his teeth grating together, "What an unexpected surprise... Opal Kaboi!"

The fairy laughed and Artemis felt tiny fingers tickle his ear. "Yes, it is I- Opal Kaboi, back from the deep sleep and mental hospital they put me in."

"How?"

Opal's voice had a musical quality, so when she spoke, she chimmed. "_'How' _is not important, Arty."

Artemis knew she was only trying to throw him off guard with the nickname. He momentarily wondered how _everyone_ seemed to know it. "Why, then? Why come back to me? Why now? I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. Sure, you ruined my life, my error-proof plots, and any hopes and dreams I had of becoming an evil, female superpower, but all that can be easily forgiven...for a small price. I believe that answers all your questions."

"A _'small price'_ is a pitiful excuse for a revenge plot, Opal."

"Who said anything about revenge?" She sounded sincerely shocked. "I've changed my ways, Arty. I'm _free_! Free from that accursed hospital! Would you not be grateful for that? Would _you_ have the selfishness to ask for something more than freedom?"

Either Opal had really changed her ways and meant every word (which meant that she was completely psychotic,) or it was all just a ruse and she was lying through her teeth to obtain any temporary ally she could find. Temporary was an understatement. Artemis halfway expected her to be working with Ice. He couldn't trust her, or anyone, for that matter. "If you're so unselfish, why ask me to pay a price for your forgiveness?"

"Forgiveness? Did I say that? I meant the whereabouts of Holly Short."

Artemis could hear the grin form on her lips as the last sentence was spoken. She was one step ahead of _him_, and that angered him even more than not knowing where Ice and Holly were. Here he was, thinking he was finally back on track, when Opal Kaboi shows up and gets her tiny, insignificant bit of revenge by proving him how wrong he was. "What do you want?" Whatever her answer was could wait; he would sort it out later. All that mattered right then was getting Holly back to Haven safely.

There was a long silence as Opal reconsidered her answer for probably the hundredth time. Artemis wanted to pull out her wings one at a time. Slowly. He'd waited long enough.

"I want..." she started, only to hesitate once more. Butler had to put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. Opal smiled. "I want you to make out with Ice."

Artemis' face paled even more than it already had been. He couldn't help but ask "Surely you're joking?" before agreeing to something so... so blasphemous.

"Yes." The smile was back on her lips. "I am joking. The look you gave me was payment enough for the information you need. Holly is hidden in the top of the underground aqueducts. Go through the royal palace to get there fastest. When I last saw her, she was unharmed, but I can't say how long that will last."

Artemis couldn't believe what he was hearing. She could still be lying, even though she sounded sincere. She could very well be working with Ice. She did refuse to tell him how she escaped, and Ice _did_ help Mulch get out of prison; what was to stop him from freeing Opal too?

But Opal was his only hope, now. Root, Trouble, Foaly- all useless to him. This was agood chance. If only he could take it; if only he could trust her... He was out of options. He _had_ to trust her. She'd already proven that she could play his game with deft ease. He needed to show her that he could retaliate even better.

"I don't know where the palace is. Would you show me the way?" Artemis mentally crossed his fingers.

Opal paused, and for a moment the blur disappeared and her wings stopped moving. Artemis suspected she was considering the risks of getting even that close to Ice. Then she unveiled herself, appearing in front of Butler and eyeing him warily. She was humming softly. No one looked in their direction. In face, the entire market square seemed to be nearly deserted. Opal motioned for them to follow her as she made her way between stalls. They were soon walking toward the royal palace in India- toward Holly; toward Ice.

* * *

**next time-** _Things start heating up when everything comes together. Artemis may find Holly, but time is the key to winning, and the more time that's wasted, the less likely Holly will be found alive._

Thank you all for reviewing. And I'm sorry for the long wait. I've really enjoyed writing this... eh... _interesting_ bubble of thought that I just so happened to think good enough to make into a story.-insert big happy face here-


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